Hypertension, more commonly known as high blood pressure, refers to a high amount of pressure in a person's arteries. What causes high blood pressure? Stress or emotion can temporarily raise a person's blood pressure. If you are nervous or upset your blood pressure may temporarily rise. When measuring blood pressure the top number refers to the systolic blood pressure while the bottom number refers to diastolic pressure. When these numbers are high there is a greater risk of cardiac disease. High blood pressure can result in the hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart failure. Anything above 140/90 is considered high blood pressure. Beyond stress, there are many other factors that can contribute to high blood pressure. Smoking can increase your risk of high blood pressure. Being obese can contribute to high blood pressure. Beyond obesity, eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. Consuming too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. Typically anything more than 2 alcoholic drinks per day can raise your blood pressure. We have control over these factors. What a person eats, drinks, or smokes can affect their overall health and blood pressure.
Physical Activity and High Blood Pressure
Lack of physical activity is increasing in our society. Just think, how many processes we have automated. We have cars, garage door openers, dish washers, washer and dryers, and remote controls to our televisions. These are just a few of the modern conveniences that have led to less physical activity. One of the results of reducing physical activity is an increase in blood pressure. A reduction in physical activity has also led to an increase in obesity. Being physically active will lower your blood pressure, strengthen your heart, and reduce your overall weight. Exercise and physical activity can also lead to lower levels of stress. The American Heart Association recommends that individuals get 2 and a half hours of exercise each week. This will reduce your risk of high blood pressure. It is recommended that a person spread this time frame out over several days during the week and include aerobics and muscle strengthening exercises. Physical activity is a factor that we can control. The factors that we have no control over is our family history, race, and age. As we age, we have a greater risk of high blood pressure. Also, our race can play a factor. African Americans have a greater risk than Caucasions or Asians. It is important to improve the risk factors we can control and include physical activity in our lives.
Secondary Hypertension
High blood pressure can result due to another condition. This is called secondary hypertension. An example is diabetes. Individuals with diabetes can end up having high blood pressure as a result of the diabetes. The conditions are common together, as individuals that are obese and have low physical activity tend to have a higher risk of diabetes and a higher risk of high blood pressure. Another example of secondary hypertension is the use of birth control pills. This can result in high blood pressure, if the birth control pill contains estrogen. Pregnancy can also cause secondary hypertension. During pregnancy there is a decrease to the oxygen to the blood. This can result in high blood pressure. Sleep disorders can result in secondary hypertension. Sleep apnea is one of these disorders. The very common type of secondary hypertension is medication. Medications used to treat other medical conditions may result in high blood pressure. Sometimes a patient will be prescribed medication for a condition and medication for the high blood pressure that may result as a side effect.
